ESG management using artificial intelligence: approach to managing sustainable business development in the context of digital transformation

The authors aim to scientifically substantiate the potential of artificial intelligence (hereinafter referred to as AI) technologies to increase the effectiveness of ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) management as well as to propose recommendations for the most complete realisation of this potential in management practices of Russian business structures. To this end, the authors have summarised the best international practices of the top 50 digital economies with the highest prevalence of the ESG management in business environment in 2024. As a result, monitoring of the sustainability of Russian business development in the context of digital transformation of the domestic economy has been conducted, which revealed the outstanding effectiveness of the ESG management in Russian business environment, active use of the AI, and presence of significant potential for its further dissemination in the domestic business environment. An econometric model of the influence of AI application factors on the effectiveness of the ESG management is compiled using the regression analysis method. Based on the model, the authors’ conclusion has been made that the application factors of this technology have a contradictory effect on the ESG management, and in order to optimise this effect in the interests of sustainable business development in the context of digital transformation of the market environment of the economy, it is necessary to increase productivity of applied AI algorithms, scale of national financing for the development of the technology, and initiative of businesses in the field of the AI implementation. The empirical value of the authors’ proposals lies in the fact that they have highlighted the prospect of increasing the effectiveness of the ESG management in Russia through improving the efficiency of the AI application.